Betrayal. Failure. Harsh words that aren't meant to be tossed around lightly. Unfortunately, this is a situation where they are warranted. Canadian (formerly) technical death-metallers Cryptopsy have more or less turned their backs on the fans who have supported them year after year, and completely overhauled their sound. Their new album, The Unspoken King, is clearly an attempt by the band to ingratiate themselves with the burgeoning young "Hot Topic metal" audience. 

You would think that Judas Priest would have done everything that there is to do in heavy metal by this point, but apparently there was one mountain left to climb: a concept album. The legendary "metal gods" from Birmingham have served up a whopping 23-track platter of pure metallic epicness in the form of Nostradamus, a concept album that chronicles the life and prophecies of the famous 16th-century French apothecary of the same name.

The popular Portuguese gothic-metallers Moonspell are back with their tenth - yes, tenth - studio album, Night Eternal. The LP is definitely not their best work to date - most notably paling in comparison to their last full-length, Memorial - but is still a very catchy and diverse album. One can definitely take immediate notice of a solid evolution of their music. With a sound somewhere in-between black metal and gothic metal, the album has a well-defined dark and majestic atmosphere throughout.

Hardcore heroes Terror are back with an album that should please loyalists and continue to expand their ever-growing fan base at the same time. The lyrics are the usual fare about standing strong and fighting against that which threatens to overcome you, but the music has found two unexpected new friends: melody and harmony. Whether you like Madball or Metallica, you should find a lot to like on The Damned, The Shamed.

Opeth are at once consistent and unpredictable. Their sound generally changes quite a bit from album to album, and even from song to song, but is unflaggingly interesting. Watershed is an Opeth album from beginning to end. It takes listeners on a twisted journey from one sonic extreme to another, often leaving one thinking, "How did I get here from there!?" At once crushingly heavy and powerfully melodic, it is a testament to the use of contrast in music.